Dark Side of the Moon
by Apollymi
Summary: A Slayers ghost story but hey! That ghost said her name was ... Usagi? Shoujo no ai warnings. That means girlgirl pairings, if you didn't know. Read and review, please. Completed!
1. Prologue & Part 1

Dark Side of the Moon  
by Eternal SailorM  
  
Parts of an ancient wall were still intact around the ruin; the parts   
that had fallen over the course of time had been replaced, and the   
newer structures looked rather formidable. A bronze plaque hung near   
the wrought-iron gate, bearing the simple inscription of "Go away!"  
  
But none of that compared to the dollar signs in Lina Inverse's eyes.  
  
It did, however, bother Amelia wil Tesla Saillune. "Are you sure   
about this, Lina-san?" she whined.  
  
"I want that treasure," the redheaded sorceress answered. "We've come   
too far to just go home."  
  
That much, at least, Amelia decided, was true. They had come a long   
way to find this place, and all because Lina had overheard a couple   
of bandits mention a priceless treasure, in a ruin from the World   
Before, guarded by a vengeful spirit. Lina had heard the sounds of   
money, and so they had set out across the known world, across lands   
that hadn't been traveled in thousands of years, to find this place.   
It was. . . Well, it was rather creepy, to be honest.  
  
"There was another note," Zelgadiss reported, landing beside them.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"It's just another warning. It says: 'If you really want the spirit's   
treasure, remember these things: first, don't make it angry. Second,   
any man who enters must be especially careful; it doesn't like men.'"   
He and Gourry exchanged a glance. "'And finally, and this is most   
important of all, don't ig-'"  
  
"Why'd you stop, Zelgadiss-san?" Amelia asked.  
  
"The paper is ripped there, so I can't read it."  
  
"Well, we'll just have to push on anyway," Lina stated.  
  
The gate creaked and made horrible noises as they stepped through   
it. "If this isn't the perfect set-up for a ghost story, I don't know   
what is," Zel groaned.  
  
Inside the ruin, a long-dead figure stared at them from an upstairs   
window. If it was physical enough for facial expressions, its eyes   
would have narrowed in anger. People again, coming into this house,   
after so long. Hadn't they learned yet that this place was cursed?  
  
********************************  
  
"This place is really creepy," Amelia repeated yet again. It took a   
lot of effort, but Lina managed not to smack her. You'd think the two-  
year break from adventuring had ruined the girl; she almost wished   
she'd brought Filia instead.  
  
But she did have to admit: it was kind of creepy. Pitch black   
darkness greeted them on the inside, without a candle or lantern in   
sight.  
  
As if something had read her mind, the small lever beside the door   
clicked into an upright position and the room was flooded with light   
that seemed to originate from what looked like a lantern on the   
ceiling. "What the. . ." Lina began.  
  
"Electricity," Zelgadiss answered. "If it's working in this room, it   
should work in the rest of the house."  
  
"So we'll have light to look," finished Amelia. A book hit her in the   
back. "What?" she asked, turning to look behind her at Gourry and   
Lina.  
  
Gourry stared at her with wide eyes. "We didn't do it. It just flew   
off the shelf on its own."  
  
Amelia turned to Lina. "Did you do it, Lina-san?"  
  
"Why would I throw a book at you, Amelia? I'm going to look around   
upstairs."  
  
She'd hardly left the room when everything went crazy. Everything   
left whatever resting place it had previously possessed and threw   
itself at them.  
  
********************************  
  
The upstairs seemed rather unremarkable, as far as upstairs went.   
Bedroom followed bedroom followed bedroom, then came a room like   
nothing she'd ever seen before. Okay, she recognized the mirror and   
the larger basin seemed to be for bathing, but the rest of it was   
lost on her. For the moment at least, she decided to let that mystery   
lie and finish her exploring. There was one more door that she hadn't   
checked yet, and when she opened it, it led up a set of stairs.  
  
She'd almost put one foot inside the door when it slammed   
closed. "Let me in!" she demanded. Silently it opened again, slowly,   
as if something, whatever was opening it, was relunctant to   
obey. "Thank you." She could have sworn she heard someone grumbling   
about it not being fair. She slowly ascended the stairs, wary of   
another of the spirit's temper tantrums.  
  
It was another bedroom, done in colors that surely must have once   
been pinks and whites and other such pastels. A huge bloodstain - no,   
two of them - spread across the floor, turned black over time. A desk   
with a large mirror sat to one side of a large bed. Cracking posters   
covered the walls, most of them of odd contraptions that were vaguely   
box-shaped and of a dark blond-haired man in a sort of uniform which   
said "Formula One". At least she thought it was a man; it could have   
been a woman. The others were of three men with long hair, the "Three   
Lights," if the words were to be believed. On the bedside table was   
another picture of the blond man, this time looking a bit more   
feminine and standing beside a girl with long blonde hair. Behind it   
was another picture of the blonde girl, a bit younger and with a dark-  
haired man and the faintest image of a little girl with pink hair.   
The bedsheet was blue with moons and rabbits on it. The whole room   
was simply too cute for words.  
  
So why didn't anyone clean up the blood? she wondered to herself,   
sitting down at the desk. The rest of the house was immaculate, the   
kind of perfectly clean that spoke of someone who had time to stay   
around the house all day to keep it clean. Why would someone keep   
such a perfect house, yet leave all that blood on the floor?  
  
She turned on the seat and regarded herself in the mirror. Before her   
glass reflection sat a hair brush, long golden strands of hair still   
in it, the same shade of golden blonde as the young woman in the   
pictures. With a sigh, she pulled out the hair and started to brush   
out the tangles the long journey here had produced in her hair.   
When she looked up a moment later, she froze, staring at the   
reflection she no longer had. Instead she was looking into an   
unfamiliar pair of blue eyes framed by blonde hair nearly double the   
length of her own. The young woman slowly brushed out her hair, a   
small smile on her face. There was a ringing sound behind her; she   
turned but saw nothing that could be making such a sound; looking   
back in the mirror, the girl had jumped up and crossed the room to   
pick up the small rectangle-shaped object on the bedside table beside   
the pictures and she appeared to be talking into it. With a nod, she   
out it back on its cradle and returned to the desk, sitting exactly   
where Lina was sitting herself. She sighed and rested her head on her   
hand, clearly upset about something.   
  
Without warning, the blonde disappeared and Lina blinked in surprise   
to see herself again. What was that all about? "Oh, that's it," she   
realized aloud. "This is your house, isn't it? You're not a spirit;   
you're a ghost."  
  
Around her, the room seemed to fairly hum with satisfaction.  
  
"So why don't you want anyone to come here? I always heard ghosts   
appreciated the company after being alone." The sense of happiness   
fled, and it got very cold very quickly.  
  
"Lina-san!" Amelia called out, bursting up the stairs. "Guess what we   
found!" Her enthusiasm faded in the chilliness of the room. "It's so   
cold in here!" Abruptly the temperature returned to normal as a   
breeze ruffled by Amelia's hair and down the stairs.  
  
"What did you find? The treasure?" Lina asked eagerly.  
  
"No, a book. I can't read it, but Zelgadiss-san says it looks like   
some sort of diary. It was written in something he called 'katakana.'   
Do you think it could have a clue to the treasure, Lina-san?"  
  
"It could. We may as well stay here the night; it's almost dark   
outside and it's a two-hour walk to the nearest town."  
  
"But . . . here? In this house? With the spirit?"  
  
Lina cracked a small smile. "It's not a spirit. It's a ghost."  



	2. Part Two

Dark Side of the Moon  
Part 2  
  
Here's a bit more!  
  
************************  
  
Lina cracked a small smile. "It's not a spirit. It's a ghost."  
  
"A ghost?" Amelia repeated. "But I thought ghosts couldn't move   
things."  
  
"How many ghosts have you known, Amelia?" The girl shrugged. "When   
should Silphiel be here?"  
  
"As soon as it's dark. I'll go tell the guys we're staying here   
then." Amelia went down the stairs. After a few moments, Lina   
followed her, but only as far as the odd room. She stepped in it and   
shut the door. Almost immediately the handles over the larger basin   
began to turn themselves and water came out of the faucet and began   
to fill it.  
  
"What? Do I stink or something?" There was a faint giggle. A cabinet   
beneath the smaller basin opened, and a towel came floating out to   
sit on the odd-shaped contraption beside the water-filled   
vessel. "Well, I guess we're both girls here." She stripped quickly   
and got in the water. "Gods, this is perfect," she whispered, sinking   
down deeper.  
  
"I'm glad you like it," an unfamiliar woman's voice answered, and   
Lina bolted upright.  
  
"Who's there?"  
  
"You can hear me?" the voice shrieked. "You can really hear me?"  
  
"Of course I can hear you. Why wouldn't I be able to hear you?"  
  
"You'll talk to me?" She sounded sad now. "Everyone who has ever come   
here has always ignored me." Hence the note, Lina thought. She must   
not like to be ignored. Who could blame her, if she's been here since   
before Ceiphied and Ruby-Eye went to war? "What's your name?"  
  
"Lina Inverse. What about you?"  
  
"Tsukino Usagi."  
  
"Tsukino? What an odd name."  
  
"Tsukino's my family name. Everyone called me Usagi or Usagi-chan.   
I'm pleased to meet you - Do I call you Inverse or Lina?"  
  
"Inverse is my family name." She paused, looked down, and   
blushed. "Could we continue this conversation some time when I'm not   
naked?"  
  
"Gomen nasai, Lina. I'm used to not having a body now; I forgot about   
that. I'll go."  
  
"It's okay, I guess. Could you slide that towel a little closer over   
here?"  
  
Usagi laughed. "Sure." As if on its own, the soft piece of cloth   
floated over to the edge of the -  
  
"What do you call this thing anyway?" she asked, gesturing to the   
basin in which she lay.  
  
"A bath tub." She laughed. "One of the first groups of people to come   
here were a bunch of scholars. One of them almost died of fright when   
I cut the water on. I guess things like this aren't in the world   
anymore."  
  
"How long have you been here?"  
  
She sighed. "It seems like forever. Since. . ."   
  
The temperature in the room dropped radically. Lina shivered and   
slipped as far down in the water as she could. "Usagi?"  
  
"I can't stay here any longer," the ghost whispered. "He's coming,   
and I'd hate for him to find out there are living people here. I'll   
be seeing you, Lina."  
  
"Who's coming?" She was met by dead silence. "Usagi?"  
  
************************  
  
"Don't you dare try to warn them away."  
  
"Don't go near them."  
  
"You've warned away every human that has come here in the past. I   
want something to toy with again."  
  
"Like you did that poor scholar? No way. I'm not going to let you.   
Besides, it was so hard to make myself material enough to cut him   
down."  
  
The third entity nodded silently, and Usagi patted him softly as best   
she could. He had hardly spoken a word when he was alive; he was too   
silent now, even for a ghost. He and his group of fellow scholars had   
thought they were prepared to enter this cursed house. She supposed   
it was only sheer luck that only one of them had died here.  
  
"I'm going to have some fun with our guests whether you like it or   
not, Usagi. It's up to you, though, which ones I play with."  
  
"I won't let you do this."  
  
"They're just after the treasure anyway. Doesn't that make them   
worthy of punishment?"  
  
With that, the evil one faded away. She paced back and forth across   
the bedroom floor, her transparent feet never really touching. "We   
can't let him do this, you know," she said to her companion. He   
nodded back at her. Even to her, a fellow ghost, he was barely   
visible; he had exhausted a great deal of what little energy he had   
trying to scare off Lina's friends downstairs. "We have to stop him.   
It's obvious Lina and her friends won't leave, at least not tonight."   
Her frown deepened, and her speed increased. "We'll just have to keep   
an eye on them."  
  
He looked up at her, apparently worried, and held up two fingers.  
  
"What? Oh. Well, there are four of them, so maybe they'll break off   
into two groups. That way, we'll be able to -"  
  
She froze and ceased speaking as her latest lap brought her up to the   
window. Her companion slid up closer to her and glanced over her   
shoulder. He tapped her shoulder urgently and held up five fingers.  
  
"I know, I know. Five of them, two of us. We have trouble."  
  
************************  
  
"Glad you finally decided to show up, Silphiel," Lina drily commented   
as the young shrine maiden stepped inside the house. A long-forgotten   
stick of metal tossed itself at her idly before Gourry batted it away.  
  
"Lina-san," the dark-haired woman stated warmly, "it's so good to see   
you again."  
  
She nodded. "Well, I'm going on to bed, you guys. I'll see you in the   
morning."  
  
Amelia waited until the redheaded sorceress was out of the room and   
most of the way up the stairs before she turned to the others and   
asked, "Does it seem like Lina-san's acting strange to anyone but me?"  
  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------  
----------  
  
Lina sighed and stretched and collapsed on the bed - then coughed at   
the wave of dust that action had produced. From across the room, she   
heard a faint giggle. "Usagi? Is that you?"  
  
"Hai, Lina, it's me." She paused, whispering as though she were   
conversing with someone else. "It's us."  
  
"Us?" There was more than one spirit here?  
  
"Well, yeah. I don't know my friend's name, but he was a scholar in   
life."  
  
"So there are two ghosts in this house?"  
  
"I . . . guess you could say that." Usagi sounded evasive.   
  
"Explain, Usagi."  
  
The ghost chuckled. "There are two ghosts here: myself and my friend   
here. He was the one who was throwing things at your friends, you   
see. Then there's the spirit of the house."  
  
"So there is a spirit here?"  
  
Usagi sighed. "Yes, a very evil one. He drove my friend here to kill   
himself. I don't even remember a time when he wasn't here to torment   
me. He's tried his utmost to kill everyone who has ever entered this   
house, and since this time of the year is peak for him and me, he   
usually succeeds in driving them mad." She paused for no reason Lina   
could detect. "Okay, you go do that. I'll be here."  
  
Lina faintly saw a breeze moving the hair ribbons that hung from the   
guardrails to the steps. "Where's he going?"  
  
"To keep an eye on your friends." Alarm shot through Lina, and she   
bolted upright. "Don't worry. He won't hurt them or anything. He only   
threw things at them to try to scare them away, but since that didn't   
work, he'll protect them now. He's freer to move about the house than   
I am anyway."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Well, our tormenter has made a game of this. I'm safe from him, so   
long as I stay on the top two levels of the house."  
  
"But, Usagi, you're a ghost. He can't hurt you."  
  
"That's not entirely true. A human can't hurt a ghost, true enough,   
but ghosts and spirits are made out of the same material and we're   
real enough to each other, unless we use up a lot of our energy. I've   
been at his mercies before. I have no wish to be there again. You're   
the only one on the upper levels, so I'll stay with you. Besides,"   
she could almost sense the ghost winking at her, "you'll talk to me."  
  
That was a cue if she'd ever heard one. "So what do you want to talk   
about?"  
  
"I . . . want to know what the world is like outside the house. I   
barely remember what my own world was like; I want to know all about   
this new one."  
  
And she'd been hoping to find out about the World Before too. Damn,   
Lina sourly thought to herself. With an internal shrug, she started   
talking. She never even noticed herself getting sleepy until she   
heard faint shifting sounds. "What are you doing, Usagi?" she asked.  
  
"I thought you might like a nightgown, unless you want to sleep in   
your clothes."  
  
She glanced down at herself. "I never even thought about that."  
  
"Well, for one who has weathered the things you have, sleeping in   
your clothes is probably a very trivial thing." A pair of blue   
pyjamas floated up out of a drawer and over to the bed.  
  
"You know, Usagi, that's really kind of unnerving. Is there any way   
you can make yourself, you know, visible?"  
  
"I would, Lina, but it takes a lot of effort just grasping things.   
Ghosts are not made for moving things about, you know. It takes a lot   
of energy, and we ghosts have only so much to spare."  
  
"Then why do you keep using yours to help me out?"  
  
"From what I can remember, I've always been this way. I like to help   
people, especially friends. And since you're the first person in over   
a thousand years who has wanted to talk to me, I think you're a   
friend, don't you?" She didn't even give Lina a chance to answer   
before she continued. "Okay. Stand up, Lina. Pyjamas, bed. You look   
exhausted. It must have been quite a long journey here from wherever   
you came from."  
  
"You always seem to be trying to get my clothes off me," she idly   
complained. Usagi burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing, just the idea of me trying to get someone's   
clothes off them. I don't even remember how clothes work or what the   
real purpose of them was."  
  
As soon as Lina set her cape on the bed, it was picked up and swished   
around an invisible body. As it settled down, a faint outline of a   
human-like form took shape. Damn, Lina thought again, even dead women   
have better bodies than me. "I don't think it's your colour, Usagi."  
  
"You think?" As if on its own the cape twisted back and forth before   
the larger mirror that stood on its own beside the bed. "Yeah, you   
may be right, Lina. But it would be nice to be able to feel cloth   
again." She sighed, taking the cape off and folding it neatly,   
placing it on the desk seat, as she continued to do for every item   
Lina took off. "You know, Lina, sometimes I almost think I remember   
how things smelled, how food tasted, but then it fades, and all I can   
remember is this dark death." Abruptly she changed the subject. "You   
and your friends should leave here tomorrow, Lina. It won't be safe   
after then."  
  
She pulled on the pyjamas and slipped into the bed. "Why not?"  
  
"He'll be stronger tomorrow, strong enough to physically hurt   
someone. He gets stronger every year at this time. Sometimes I worry   
that he's going to become strong enough to break through the barrier."  
  
"Barrier? What barrier?"  
  
"Between death and life, of course. He wants to be alive again." She   
chuckled mirthlessly. "All ghosts do."  
  
"I can imagine. Why would he be stronger?"  
  
"Because the day after tomorrow marks the day he and I began our   
struggle. Both of our powers will be at their peak for the next three   
days after then."  
  
"Why, Usagi?"  
  
"Because the day after tomorrow will mark the anniversary of him   
putting a knife through my chest. My father retaliated and almost   
killed him though. We both lingered on the edge of death for three   
days. After the first night, strange earthquakes started, and I   
vaguely remember hearing people talking about great beasts fighting   
in the skies far away. And on the third day, I woke up and dragged   
myself all the way to the door of this house, with that bastard right   
on my heels, when a weird blast of radiant light cut through us." She   
chuckled again. "And we both died. If we'd gotten to the house, we   
would have been safe, I think."  
  
Great beasts fighting in the skies . . . That would have to be   
Ceiphied and Ruby-Eye. Gods . . . Then that means she died right as   
their battle finished. "Usagi. . ."  
  
"But I think you need sleep more than you need to hear my tale of   
woe, so good night, Lina."  
  
The minute Usagi extinguished the light, she could feel her eyes   
drooping shut. Within moments, she was asleep.  
  
The ghost of a long-dead young woman stared down at the person in her   
bed, wishing she could hate her for being there, for invading her   
house, her routine, for being here at a time when he was at his   
worst, when she'd have to keep her in her sight. But she couldn't.   
She smiled to herself. Yes. This she remembered. This was what it was   
like to have a friend. She balanced her less-than-material body just   
right and lay down beside Lina on the bed. And, because ghosts had no   
need for sleep, she watched her all night.  
  



	3. Part Three

Dark Side of the Moon  
Part 3  
by Eternal SailorM  
  
A little more coming at you!  
  
**************  
  
It was confirmable. He was bored. Why did he have to end up with this   
guy to watch? Because all the others went outside, except him, this   
woman, and the woman upstairs with Usagi, he answered his own   
question.  
  
He could just imagine it now. This guy (the woman cooking had called   
him "Gourry") was going to choke on a bone or something, die, and end   
up haunting this place too. Then he would be pestering him and Usagi   
with these pointless questions instead of this poor Silphiel   
woman. "What do you think Lina's up to up there anyway?"  
  
Finally something somewhat intelligent out of his mouth. Simply   
miraculous.  
  
He could almost feel sorry for this Lina person. She had to be the   
woman with Usagi - and the only unattached member of their group.   
This Gourry and this Silphiel were a couple, and those Zelgadiss and   
Amelia people were another, but Lina was the apparent leader of the   
group and alone.  
  
"I guess she's already asleep, Gourry-sama. She wouldn't be missing   
dinner otherwise."  
  
Well, maybe she'll stay upstairs where Usagi can watch her, and the   
other two will stay outside out of all our reaches, and I'll just   
have to stick on the idiot for the rest of the night. Oh gods, it's   
going to be a long night. . .   
  
**************  
  
The faint light of early dawn woke her up. She stretched just   
slightly, and her hand passed through something cold as ice, as cold   
as. . .  
  
"Ohayoo gozaimasu, Lina," Usagi greeted. She was apparently right   
beside her, laying on the bed too. "Did you sleep well?"  
  
"Yeah, better than I have in a while. Thank you. You were here all   
night?"  
  
The bedclothes moved faintly as if the ghost had shrugged. "Ghosts   
don't need sleep."  
  
"You know, I can almost see you today, Usagi." The extra pillow on   
the bed hit her in the face. "Hey! What was that for?"  
  
"For the sake of I wanted to. You and your friends should start   
getting out of here."  
  
"We're not leaving yet."  
  
Usagi sighed. The bed shifted as she got up; when she spoke again,   
her voice was no longer so close. "Not until you get this house's   
treasure, right?"  
  
"That's why we came here, but how did you know?"  
  
"I have my ways. Everyone who has ever come to this house was   
ultimately after the treasure. Scholars, sorcerers, mercenaries,   
bandits, every one of them was after it, and none of them ever got   
it. I died to keep it safe, and I'll keep on protecting it until I   
have no energy left to do so."  
  
"So the treasure is yours?" Lina whispered; Usagi didn't answer. "You   
keep on mentioning this energy, about how ghosts only have so much of   
it. What is it? And what happens when you run out of it?"  
  
"Energy is all that is left of our mortal bodies. It's what gives us   
what little form and powers we have as spirits, but when we use it   
all up, we cease to exist and we - Lina! Look out!"  
  
The light from the window behind her died, and the entire room was   
suddenly pluged into total darkness. She looked behind her slowly. A   
huge dark shape blocked the window, bleak, dark, and opaque. It   
raised a hand, claw-tipped fingers aimed at her heart, and plunged it   
down. A cold, cold arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her   
backwards, off the bed. Before she even realized what she was doing,   
she lifted both hands before her and called out, "Elmekia Lance!" The   
white light cut through the darkness, and it screamed in pain before   
vanishing through the floor.  
  
A familiar voice chuckled. "I wasn't expecting you to be a sorceress,   
Lina. Maybe you don't need my help after all." She slowly released   
Lina's waist and let her settle to the floor.  
  
She reached up and wrapped her fingers around the faint image of the   
blonde ghost, pulling her back down to the floor beside her. "You   
knew it was coming. You saved my life." Usagi shrugged. "Tell me the   
whole truth now, Usagi. What is that thing? What does it want?"  
  
Usagi tried to pull her arm back, but she wouldn't release it.   
Wearily she answered, "It was human once. I know. It - he was my ex-  
boyfriend. He got upset when I dumped him for someone else, someone   
who was nicer to me and who treated me a thousand times better, and   
he killed me. For the first thousand years or so, he was content to   
just torment me, then other people started showing up, and he came to   
see it as a challenge, a way to break me by breaking others. So, you   
asked what he wants. He wants to either kill you or torture you until   
you kill yourself, got it?"  
  
"So you, a ghost, are protecting me? And your companion is protecting   
my friends? Why?"  
  
"'Why'?" the spirit shrieked back. Her form hovered a little closer   
to material in her anger, and the room's temperature dropped a few   
degrees. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be dead? It's   
horrible: cold, lonely, and boring! I wouldn't wish this on my worst   
enemy, let alone a friend! And like it or not, I consider you my   
friend now, Lina, and we'll find a way to drive you out of this house   
before tonight!"  
  
**************  
  
The redhead, Lina, was downstairs, and Usagi was nowhere to be found.   
Even that unique energy pattern she wore like a badge was gone. The   
whole house was a little colder, even to his almost nonexistant   
senses. Their opponent, demon that he was, was almost sulking,   
probably because of Usagi's disappearance.  
  
"It's no fun playing with them when Usagi doesn't get all flustered   
and protective," it complained as it floated above Gourry and   
Silphiel on the sofa.  
  
He shrugged. She's upset about something. It didn't try something on   
Lina or her upstairs, did it? He glanced toward the kitchen, where   
the redhead was gobbling down food.  
  
"Don't you be getting ideas about protecting them, scholar,   
especially that one. They're mine to play with." It rubbed the soft   
of its shoulder. "Besides, she's a sorceress; she doesn't need the   
help of a spirit."  
  
"We have to get them out of the house," Usagi's voice floated down   
from the top of the stairs.  
  
"What?" the demon demanded.  
  
"This is still my house, and I want them out of it now!" He gestured   
frantically; somehow she saw it. "Yes, we need to boot them out,   
scholar. Literally, if needs be."  
  
"What do you mean? Why?"  
  
"They're different from the others. They're dangerous, more dangerous   
than anyone who has ever come here."  
  
The demon smiled, or its approximate thereof. "All the more reason to   
keep them here. That very strength will make breaking them will be a   
challenge."  
  
"Yurusunai, kisama."  
  
Those two are impossible, he admitted, shaking his head. That same   
movement brought something interesting to his eyes. Masaka. . .  
  
The demon cackled, hopping down from his perch. "Your chosen one is   
brave, Usagi."  
  
"Leave Lina out of this," she ordered.  
  
"Lina? So it's just the woman you're worried about? Then I'll be   
extra sure to keep an eye on her."  
  
"I mean it: leave her alone."  
  
The redhead marched right past them all, coming so close to the demon   
that the cape she wore brushed along it, briefly showing its sharp   
features to the other humans. "Come on, guys," she stated. "We're   
leaving."  
  
"B-but," Gourry began. Lina silenced him with one severe look. The   
others merely shrugged and followed her out of the house.  
  
Usagi sighed in relief, stood, and went back up to the window in her   
bedroom to watch them leave. And try to pretend that the house didn't   
seem a bit lonelier.  
  



	4. Part Four

Dark Side of the Moon  
Part 4  
by Eternal SailorM  
  
Here's a bit more... Sorry the parts keep getting shorter....  
  
********************  
  
"Okay, Lina, what's the deal?" Zelgadiss demanded. "You would never   
give up on the treasure that easily."  
  
"I haven't given up on it at all, but we're going to need some more   
help."  
  
"Who do you have in mind?"  
  
"I think we could really use Filia."  
  
"Filia-san?" Amelia repeated.  
  
"And then we're going back tomorrow."  
  
"Lina-san," Silphiel began, her voice rather hesitant, "what's wrong   
with you? You've been acting strangely ever since we got here."  
  
She looked at them, the two sets of couples, and pasted a grin on her   
face that she did not feel. "I'm fine, guys. Really, I am. There's no   
sense wasting time now. Let's go."  
  
They'd never understand, she thought to herself. Zel might have,   
once, but not now, not anymore. Against her will, she found herself   
stopping and turning around to face the house. But I bet Usagi would   
understand. . . Understand what it means to be alone.  
  
*********************  
  
"Oh, Megami-sama," Usagi complained, "was the house always so empty?"   
He shrugged his answer, and she went right back to moping. She'd been   
doing that since the humans left the day before. He tapped her   
shoulder gently, and she glanced back over at him; once he had her   
attention, he pointed at the object on the wall she had once called a   
clock. "You're right, my friend; it's almost that time again." He   
sent her a very obviously concerned look. "I'm all right. I'm dead,   
after all, so it doesn't really -"  
  
The door downstairs burst open, and loud, startlingly familiar voices   
drifted up to them. " -took you long enough to get here, Filia!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Lina-san, but. . ."  
  
But Usagi clearly wasn't listening to the golden-haired woman below.   
She stood up and walked right up to the top of the stairs, the   
closest he'd ever seen her come to going downstairs in all the time   
he'd been with her, and whispered somewhere between happily and   
angrily, "She came back. She came back." She sighed, her face   
settling into a blank expression. "Why did she have to come back now?"  
  
"Usagi," the demon whispered in her ear, "it seems your champion has   
returned to you."  
  
"Don't hurt her." She turned and stared up into his cold, ruthless   
blue eyes. "I'm begging. Please. I haven't begged for anything in the   
whole time we've been imprisoned here, but I'm begging now. Please   
don't hurt her."  
  
"As tempting as it is, especially hearing you beg me for something,   
now I can't leave her alone."  
  
"Why?" she demanded, her voice rising and the whole house's   
temperature dropping.  
  
"Because, since that little sorceress came here, you haven't   
mentioned Haruka once. Not once. And while I am not abject to a break   
from hearing about the woman you left me for, it certainly seems. . .   
curious."  
  
"Lina's my friend, nothing else."  
  
"You said that about Haruka once too, remember? It doesn't exactly   
reassure me."  
  
"At the time, that was all we were. Please don't hurt Lina."  
  
It smiled grimly. "Of course I will." It flitted up through the   
ceiling toward her attic bedroom.  
  
"What're we gonna do?" Usagi thought aloud. "We couldn't run them out   
when we had days to do it; there's no way we could get it done in   
fifteen minutes now."  
  
"Absolutely not a chance," Lina answered. Usagi whirled to see Lina   
leaning against the wall. "We're not leaving again this time."  
  
"Demo. . . Lina. . .," Usagi nervously began, glancing over her   
shoulder.  
  
"No 'buts,' Usagi." She caught Usagi's arm and turned her back to   
face her. "I'm going to find a way to save you."  
  
Usagi smiled sadly, touching Lina's face very hesitantly; the   
sorceress visibly had to fight down a shiver from the cold   
touch. "I'm dead, Lina-chan. I've been dead longer than your world   
has existed. There is no reason for you to try to save me." She bit   
her lip in frustration. "If you want the treasure that badly, I'll -"  
  
"This isn't about the treasure, all right?" Lina all but   
screamed. "For once in my life, it's about something other than fame   
or gold. I just -" She broke off for a moment, apparently losing some   
of her steam. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter. "I just   
want to help you, Usagi."  
  
"You want to help? Then get out of here while you still can."  
  
"No."  
  
Usagi looked up at the clock then back at Lina. "It's too late   
anyway." Downstairs, the door leading outside slammed shut and locked   
itself. The ghost cast desperate eyes on the human and whispered   
almost too softly to be heard, "Just please don't go upstairs, Lina-  
chan."  
  
"Why -"  
  
Lina didn't get to finish her question before an unseen force yanked   
Usagi from her grasp and pulled her up though the ceiling.  
  
"What was that, Lina-san?" the golden-haired woman asked, slowly   
coming up the stairs. "Was that your ghost?"  
  
"So you could see Usagi?"  
  
"Just barely, just the faintest image of her. I could see her   
talking, but I couldn't hear her, just a buzzing in my head."  
  
"She's sad," Val put in. Lina glanced down at the small ancient   
dragon. Reborn after the Dark Star incident two years ago, the boy   
that had once been among their worst enemies, Valgaav, looked perhaps   
four or five, though he seemed far more intelligent than his age gave   
him reason to be. "She was sad because she's dead, but now she's even   
sadder that you came back, Lina-san."  
  
"That I came back?"  
  
"Because now you'll be in danger."   
  
Even he couldn't help staring down at the boy in awe. He'd read Usagi   
perfectly in a matter of seconds.  
  
A scream echoed through the house, and he started, so caught up was   
he in the boy's insightful thoughts. Damn, Usagi still screams loud   
enough to wake the dead, even after going through this every year in   
all this time.  
  
"Usagi!" Lina called, rushing towards the stairs at the end of the   
hall. He tried to stop her, but his hand passed right through her.  
  
Just as Lina reached the steps and was about to start up them, a   
small explosion was heard in the room above her; it sounded very   
similar to one of Jilas's guns.  
  
*****************  
  
  
25 March 2001  
  
Okay, this may not be the place to put this, but I wanted to issue  
some challenges/ask some questions to the fanfic community at large:  
  
1) This is a challenge. I'd like to see a Gundam Wing/The Crow  
fusion fic. I really think this would be cool; Duo or Hiiro as the  
Crow. Too, too cool.  
  
2) This is just a question that has been bothering me. This is for all  
you game fans out there, especially fans of Fatal Fury and Street   
Fighter. In an all-out match, who would win: Terry Bogard or Ryu?  
  
E-mail me with your responses to either of these!  
eternal_sailorm@hotmail.com 


	5. Part Five

Dark Side of the Moon  
Part 5   
by Eternal SailorM  
  
  
****************  
  
Just as Lina reached the steps and was about to start up them, a   
small explosion was heard in the room above her; it sounded very   
similar to one of Jilas's guns.  
  
If she'd gone up the stairs any faster, she would have flown. On the   
floor, each lying in one of the bloodstains, seemingly unconscious,   
were Usagi and the dark-haired man from the picture. They look so   
solid, so real, that they almost looked completely human again.  
  
The man climbed to his feet first, his already dark shirt stained   
darker with blood that did not flow, and turned to face her. His blue   
eyes were like ice, as cold as a Mazoku's eyes. "So, you're Usagi's   
new companion." His voice was colder than his eyes. Moving quicker   
than any mortal could, he darted forward and caught her chin in an   
iron grip; unlike the rest of him, his hand was warm."I'll be seeing   
you around." He planted a quick wet kiss on her lips and then   
completely vanished from sight, and before she could fire another   
Elmekia Lance at him too.  
  
Grimacing and wiping her mouth fervently, she moved over to check on   
Usagi. As she knelt beside her, the small blonde stirred and sat up   
in a daze. "Lina-chan?" she asked.  
  
At the top of the stairs, Filia gasped, touching her own ears   
lightly. This time, she'd been able to hear her.  
  
"Usagi?" Lina reached out and brushed her fingers against the   
blonde's face; Usagi smiled and leaned into the touch. Her skin was   
warm now. "Are you alive now?"  
  
"Iie, I'm just less dead now than before. For the next three days,   
the demon and I will both be like this, and all three of those days   
will be pure hell on hearth. Hey!" she called over to Filia. "Hold   
onto something, okay?"   
  
"What. . ." Around them, the entire house began to shake. It lasted   
only around five minutes though. A bit shaken, Filia climbed to her   
feet and asked, "What was that?"  
  
"The first of many earthquakes you'll experience over the next three   
days, and it was the smallest and shortest of them all. You see, this   
is the curse of a ghost's existence, having to relive their death on   
its anniversary every year." She glanced out the window. "You won't   
be able to see the great beasts fighting in the sky, but this is   
exactly what happened when I died."  
  
"Great beasts?" Filia repeated.  
  
"Ceiphied and Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu," answered Lina.  
  
"You've been a ghost that long, Usagi-san?"  
  
"Umm. . . hai, though I'm not entirely certain who they are. All the   
sorcerers and scholars who came here knew them though. Lina-chan, who   
are they?"  
  
"A long story."  
  
"Why don't we explain it to you and you tell us about your world? We   
can go downstairs where it's -"  
  
"Iie!" Usagi shrieked, scooting backwards across the floor.  
  
"She can't go below the second floor," continued Lina. "I'll meet you   
downstairs in a little bit, all right, Filia?" Nodding, the golden   
dragon left the room. "Are you okay, Usagi?"  
  
"Hai, hai, Lina-chan. I'm dead, after -"  
  
"Will you quit saying that?!?" Lina yelled. Usagi retreated a little   
further, understandably concerned in the face of an angry Lina   
Inverse. "I hate the self-sacrificing heroine type!"  
  
"Gomen nasai, Lina-chan."  
  
She slid across the floor to the other girl. "Usagi?"  
  
"Leave me alone." She scooted a little closer, and Usagi jerked away   
from her, apparently pouting. "I mean it! Leave me alone!"  
  
"You know I'm not going to."  
  
"Why not?" As odd as it seemed, the ghost appeared to be pouting.  
  
"Maybe because you're my friend too." It was amazing how those few   
words automatically brought a smile to Usagi's face. Cautiously she   
cupped her hand against the blonde's cheek; again she leaned into the   
touch. "And maybe because I like you a lot?" she even more cautiously   
added.  
  
"I really like you too, Lina." She smiled, really smiled this time,   
and it could have lit up the room.  
  
****************  
  
Lina again glanced at the blonde-haired girl patiently sitting at the   
top of the stairs, as if to make sure the version of what of Usagi's   
story she knew and was telling was all right by the ghost, who merely   
smiled back. Finally the sorceress broke off with the (rather   
dangerous) declaration, "Saa, I'm hungry!"  
  
"I think I am too," came from the top of the stairs. It was   
immediately followed by a familiar growling noise.  
  
"I'd say you are," Silphiel laughed. "I'll make something and bring it   
up to you."  
  
She bowed. "Doomo arigatoo, Silphiel-san." The archaic gesture seemed   
automatic, but it was something they had rarely seen. "I'll be waiting   
right here."  
  
"Your ghost is a very nice person," Silphiel stated as Lina hungrily   
watched her cook a few minutes later. Large red eyes turned to watch   
Silphiel's face.  
  
"You think so?" Lina asked softly.  
  
"I do."  
  
The redhead smiled faintly. "So do I."  
  
"I feel sorry for her, stuck in this house for so long, especially   
with that horrible demon. And -" She broke off and smiled again. "It   
seems the two of you are becoming rather close friends, Lina-san."  
  
"You think?"  
  
Silphiel smiled. "Yes, I do." Suddenly she frowned. "I wish there was   
a way to take her out of here, before she is destroyed by that demon."  
  
"Nani? Destroyed?"  
  
"We were talking about it earlier," Filia broke in. "I heard once of a   
demon spirit that was able to become a full Mazoku by absorbing ghosts   
and evil humans."  
  
"It sounds like that's what the spirit is trying to do here," finished   
Silphiel.  
  
"Is it ready yet, Silphiel-san?" Usagi called down.  
  
"It will be in a moment!" the black-haired priestess returned. She   
glanced over at the petite sorceress beside her. "Lina-san..."  
  
"I'm not going to let him hurt her again."  
  
Silphiel glanced back at her sharply. "You like her this much?"  
  
"Spirits like this are tricky creatures that are nearly impossible to   
destroy. You could be..."  
  
"Right now, I really don't care. I'll be upstairs with Usagi if you   
need me for anything."  
  
****************  
  
"Picnic!" Usagi happily declared when Lina came up the stairs into her   
room. She'd spread the blanket from off her bed on the floor, so that   
it covered the bloodstains. Lina just had to stop at the top of the   
stairs and stare at the blonde for several long minutes.  
  
She seemed so totally... normal right now. So happy and so very   
innocent. But how could that be, in a person who had been dead over   
five thousand years, who didn't even really remember her own life? She   
had to wonder, had Usagi been like this in life too?  
  
"Lina? Are you okay?"  
  
She grinned. "Of course I am, Usagi." She placed the food on the   
blanket. "Silphiel made us quite a feast!"  
  
"Great! I'm starving!" With a speed that surprised even Lina, she   
started grabbing at food and shoving it in her mouth. She had to   
smile; somehow she'd known Usagi would eat like this - and manage to   
look cute while doing it.  
  
But while she was admiring Usagi, the blonde was eating all their   
food. She had to rush to keep up, even though one of Silphiel's meals   
was not normally something to be rushed through.  
  
Without warning, the earth (or the house) began to shake violently.   
Totally unprepared, Lina pitched forward. She was completely   
unsurprised when Usagi broke her fall with her own body - and for the   
feelings that girl's body pressed so tightly against hers produced.  
  
"Daijoubu?" Usagi's voice whispered into her ear, her breath tickling   
the sensitive skin.  
  
She raised her body a bit, so that they were face to face, noses   
practically touching. From this close, there was no disputing the   
beauty and the hard-kept innocence in her friend's eyes. "Hai," she   
breathed.  
  
Faintly she felt Usagi's arms slip around her waist beneath her cape.   
"That's good," she answered softly. She could see a ghost of a smile   
building on Usagi's face before she pulled Lina's body down, their   
lips pressing together. It couldn't even really be called a kiss, but   
when it broke, Lina could feel heat flooding her face. Usagi, on the   
other hand, only looked embarrassed. "Gomen ne, Lina," she whispered.  
  
"For what?"  
  
Big, blue eyes blinked in apparent disbelief. "You... didn't... you   
don't mind?"  
  
"Why should I mind?" She lightly brushed their lips together again.   
"I never said I didn't like it, did I?"  
  
She smiled, and Lina felt herself responding in kind. "That's good to   
know. Well then, I guess I'd better get it right this time then."  
  
Lina's eyes slipped shut as Usagi really kissed her this time. She was   
aware of the other girl's hands skimming up her body and unhooking her   
cape, tossing it to the edge of the blanket, then moving slowly back   
down to the small of her back. Despite the layer of cloth between   
their skins, the warmth she could feel from Usagi sent delightful   
tingles along every nerve in her body.  
  
Below her, Usagi shivered, never breaking the kiss though. Maybe this   
is affecting her as much as it is me, Lina thought to herself for a   
split second -   
  
- then Usagi vanished. And Lina found herself dropping a few inches   
and her nose colliding with an old blanket and the hard wood floor   
beneath it..  
  
"Kuso..." she muttered to herself.  
  
****************  
  
"Kuso!" Usagi screamed her frustration. Of all the times for her   
energy to run low... why did it have to be right then? She screamed   
her indignation to anyone who could hear it.  
  
"Difficulties?" the demon who had once been her boyfriend purred.  
  
"Leave me alone!" she returned harshly.  
  
"Tell me: is this more difficult than it was with Haruka?"  
  
For a moment, she paused, trying to puzzle out what he meant. She was   
still having difficulties remembering the past. Then it came to her.   
"Yes, much more." She smiled faintly at the returning memories. "After   
all, I'd known Ruka-chan for years and we were both Sailor Senshi?"  
  
"Would you like it if the two of you were together forever?"  
  
Suspicion ran through her like a bullet. "What are you saying?"  
  
It shrugged. "Nothing important. Do you think you and the redhead have   
a chance in Hades?"  
  
She sat down on the floor, apparently putting some serious thought   
into this. "I... don't know. She's this powerful, charismatic..."  
  
"Completely mortal sorceress."  
  
"And I'm..."  
  
"A incorporeal, house-locked corpse."  
  
She scowled. "You needn't put it quite that way. I'll find a way to   
make it work somehow. Does that answer your question?"  
  
It shook its head resignedly, making rather obvious tsking noises, a   
habit he'd picked up in America. "Yet another tragic love affair for   
you, ne?"  
  
"Oh shut up."  
  
He stood and stepped away from her. "Maybe I'll arrange it so that you   
two can be together the only way possible now: in death." It vanished.  
  
"Matte!" she called, even reaching out a hand after it. "Please...   
don't hurt Lina!"  
  
****************  
  
Okay, I know I'm bad leaving off like that, but there is a little  
magic something that will make the next part come out quicker:  
  
REVIEWS, people!!!!!!!  
  
^_~ Review and you'll get more. That's the deal. 


	6. Part Six - Finale

Dark Side of the Moon - Part Six Dark Side of the Moon 

by [][1]Eternal SailorM

Disclaimer: I don't own The Slayers and I don't own Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon. Apparently, wishing doesn't count because if it did, I'd be rich and famous and swimming in bishonen. But since I'm neither of those three, I guess I own nothing but a P.O.S. ancient laptop/computer (which is not the one I'm working on this on), an IBC Cherry Cola, and a chocolate orange.

Author's note: In case you missed all the warnings and all, this is going to be a crossover shoujo no ai. It'll probably never get over an "R" rating, but this will be a girl-girl romance story.  
Also, see if you can guess who _my_ favourite Slayers characters are. ^_~ It shouldn't be too hard.  
And there are a lot of spoilers. That's all I say.

_**Major dedication alert:**_ This one is mainly to Kuriyamimizu, my atashi-chan. She wants this story finished very badly, so... you know... I owe her for some really good stories (_Touched_, _And He Doth Descend into the Depths of Heaven_, etc.) so this one's to her!  
Dedications: This also goes to the usual suspects: Ro-neechan, Chibi-chan, Amber-chan, and especially a certain unnamed imouto for helping in the end.

_Bored again,_ he complained in his own mind. _All they've done in the last hour is work on that journal._ He glanced over Silphiel's shoulder. _Looks cute enough to belong to Usagi._

He glanced up and found himself eye-to-eye with the blonde woman. He moved, her eyes followed him. There was no doubt she could, if not actually see him, then at least sense his presence.

A moment of staring later, the redhead came downstairs without her cape and with a red, somewhat squished-looking nose. "Hi, guys." It sounded almost like a complaint.

That seemed odd. While she may not have been the most chipper the other morning, the sorceress was acting like Usagi when she woke up. Looking at her again as she sat down between Silphiel and Zelgadiss, he gasped, almost aloud. A faint silver sparkle surrounded her, one that he'd only seen on other place before. _Usagi... _He glanced around desperately, but no one seemed to notice it except him... and the kid. That same kid that had seen into and right through Usagi before.

_They didn't..._

**"They did,"**__the demon stated. Based on the fact no one looked up when he came in the room, except the kid again, he assumed it was invisible. **"Come with me. There's something I think you should know."**

He nodded and followed the dark-haired demon into the living room. It was silent for a long moment. Finally, impatient, he gestured wildly. _Well, what do you want?!?_

**"I know how you feel about Usagi, scholar. It's no big secret; you do a very poor job of hiding it. You know she doesn't love you back, don't you?"** He nodded. **"She's fallen for that sorceress, that human."**

_She loves Lina?_ raced his mind. _But they're both girls..._

**"The Haruka she left me for all those years ago was a girl too. That seems to be her preference."** He looked smug. **"So, you see, you never stood a chance. Neither of us did."**

He shrugged, trying for nonchalant. _And your point is?_

**"The reason Usagi's aura is on the redhead is because she kissed her,"** the demon stated. Alarm shot through him. **"A good bit of her energy is in her."**

_Is she crazy?_ he thought to himself. _She knows the risks. Why would she risk herself like that? I should go check up on her, make sure she's okay and all._

He was so consumed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the demon approaching him.

But someone else did.

Usagi grimaced as she tried again to balance herself on her bed - and again fell through it. "Kuso," she repeated yet again, pulling herself back up to her feet. "This is just _not_ working right."

The faint sound of flying footsteps was her only clue of approaching company before the door was flung open and a small boy raced up the last set of stairs into her room. "Usagi-san!"

"I'm right here," she answered, extricating herself from the bed and instead sitting on the floor before him. The worry in his large amber eyes filled her with an unexpected dread. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "There isn't any time! You've got to come with me!" He reached out and unerringly grabbed her hand - and she felt herself solidify again.

_How can such a small child have so much energy within him?_ she thought to herself.

Then she pushed thought aside, jumped to her feet, never releasing his hand, and stated, "Lead the way."

As they descended to the second level of the house, the boy began to explain, speaking very quickly. "The demon, it ate up your friend, and now he's gone."

"No!" She put on an extra burst of speed and moved ahead as they reached the second floor landing. She hesitated there for a brief second then rushed on.

Six steps from the bottom, it felt like she ran into a wall and bounced off, actually rolling back _up_ the stairs with the force of it. "What the -"

"It looks like a seal made from Mazoku power." She glanced up, and for a moment, the boy was replaced by a slightly older man with shoulder-length sea green-coloured hair and... a horn? _Not the time to ask,_ she decided.

"So, why can't I get past?"

"It's sealed against -"

**"- the powers of the gods,"** the demon finished. She sprang back to her feet as he appeared at the bottom of the stairs. **"And it took me forever to build."**

"Build?" the boy and she repeated in one voice.

**"Did you really think I let all those intruders get away? They were sacrificed one by one to build this shield for this moment, when I could finally break your power."**

_Would you like it if the two of you were together forever? ... Maybe I'll arrange it so that you two can be together the only way possible now: in death._

"Lina!"

_A man appeared before Ruka-chan and me today, a strange man with purple hair, claiming to be a monk or a priest. He warned us of a new enemy approaching. Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu was its name. The priest said it was sealed within a person on this planet, hiding itself until the time is right for it to emerge._

_This sounds like our worst enemy yet, worse than even Chaos. If this priest, this Rezo, is right, this could be the end of our world._

_What I can't figure out is why Ruby-Eye would be interested in the Ginzuishou, if indeed it is. Ruka-chan thinks it isn't the Ginzuishou it's after at all; she thinks it wants me._

_But why?_

_Why me?_

_What's so special about me? All I've ever wanted to be is normal. Is that so much to ask of the gods? But... if I was normal, I would never have met Ruka-chan or the other Senshi. These days I have to always balance the good against the bad in my life._

_And my love is definitely part of the good. I suppose I'd better quit writing now; the light's keeping Ruka-chan awake._

"So," Amelia began, "how old would this make Rezo?"

"Surely he died and was reborn," Zelgadiss argued.

"Who was Rezo again?" asked Gourry before Lina hit him.

"I bet Shabranigdu arranged to be reborn inside Rezo's eyes to get revenge for warning them," Silphiel whispered. "I could almost feel sorry for him now." She paused. "Almost."

"Anyway," continued Filia," there's only one more entry. It may tell what happened."

Lina bit her lip then whispered, "I hope so."

_It's - It's all gone to Hell. Everything._

_Ruka-chan and I are the last Senshi left alive. Pluto gave her life to keep us alive, but..._

_I think this is only a temporarily pardon Shinigami-sama has granted us._

_These Mazoku who serve Shabranigdu, they're so powerful. A thousand times more powerful than any bakemono or youma we've ever face. Mistress Nine, Pharoah 90, Galaxia, Metallia - nothing could have prepared us for this. They even killed Hotaru. The Senshi of Death, and she's gone. I can't believe she's - they're all dead._

_How can these creatures be destroying us so quickly and easily?_

_We __are__ were all trained fighters, all of us; even Ami... was. And now -----_

_That sound... That tight clenching in my chest..._

_Ruka-chan!_

_  
  
I'm finishing this entry. I don't know why. It's killing me to write these words._

_I'm the only one left, the only one alive. They killed Ruka-chan._

_And to make matters worse, Mamoru - yeah, the bastard who cheated on me - is back from America. To be honest, he's been back in Japan for a few weeks..._

_And these Mazoku first started showing up a few weeks ago. Could... No way! Mamoru's a bastard, but he's not a Mazoku! Right? Right?!? He's amoral, yes, of course, but he'd never sell out the human race, right?_

_I'm just further convincing myself of a connection. He's involved somehow. How though?_

_  
  
Masaka..._

_  
  
Mamoru couldn't be the human that Shabranigdu is seal in._

_Could he?_

_Rezo said there was another human, this one with a being called Ceiphied locked within him. Rezo failed to say what Ceiphied is though. All he said was Ceiphied is Shabranigdu's eternal enemy, its polar opposite._

_So if Shabranigdu is a demon, then is Ceiphied a god?_

_So many "ifs" and not enough answers. I do know this: before Rei died, she said that the Ginzuishou was part of the puzzle. I know these Mazoku dislike even its presence._

_So is the Ginzuishou related to the Ceiphied mystery? Yet another answered-less question._

_What if Ruka-chan was right? What if they don't want the Ginzuishou after all? What if all they want is me?_

_I remember, in the battle for Galaxia's soul, when I gave myself over to the Ginzuishou to heal her, I felt something stir. I wasn't sure if it was me or Galaxia, the Ginzuishou or Chaos, so I ignored it. But what if the Ginzuishou was trying to tell me something? Or warn me of something? And I ignored it like the baka I am. And now everyone is dead, and it's all my fault._

_I'm going against the Mazoku. I can't let my Senshi be alone; I can't let Ruka be alone. Please, if I die and anyone reads this later, find Ceiphied and use it to destroy Shabranigdu. That's all I ask._

_Destroy Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu __for me__ for us._

_For Ami, the genius who go us out of so many pinches. For Rei, who was always there for me when I needed her, like a best friend should be. For Mako-chan, who always protected me and stood up for me, right up to the end. For Minako, whose cheerful and silly demeanor masked the strong leader who kept us from falling apart._

_For Setsuna, who gave her life for me and Ruka and who always stood in the shadows watching over us. For Hotaru, who never really had the chance to live. For Michiru, who only wanted to love Ruka and me._

_For the woman who joined our fight for no reason other than we needed help but gave us no name, save Galaxia. For Seiya, Star Fighter, who stood by me, even when I chose Ruka instead. For Taiki, Star Maker, who died for Ami. For Yaten, Star Healer, who fought so valiantly and died so bravely._

_For Ruka, the woman I loved, who held me tenderly and helped me forget the past, who taught me how much I was worth, who loved me for and in spite of who I am._

_And for me, baka Usagi, Sailormoon, Princess Serenity, age nineteen, and all alone._

_And maybe Mamoru will help me in this fight..._

"So who was Ceiphied?" Amelia blurted out. "And was that Mamoru guy really Shabranigdu?"

"Lina-san, didn't you say -" Silphiel began.

"Mamoru was the one who killed Usagi," the redhead finished, a very angry glower on her face. "And he is the spirit who keeps making everything hell for her. He could very well _be_ Shabranigdu, even now."

Filia's eyes widened, and she glanced around wildly. "Where's Val?"

"The other ghost isn't here either," Zel stated. A certain chill that always seemed to mark a ghost's presence was missing. All in all, the entire house was too quiet.

As if on cue, a room away, a deep voice spoke. "**The powers of the gods. And it took me forever to build."** It was silent for a second, as if listening to a brief response then continued. **"Did you really think I let all those intruders get away? They were sacrificed one by one to build this shield for this moment, when I could finally break your power."**

"Lina!" another voice screamed, one that was somewhat more familiar to them.

"Usagi!" The sorceress bolted out of her chair and ran out of the kitchen.

Usagi's heart sank as Lina appeared out of the kitchen. She didn't have long to dwell on it though. Around her, she could see and feel the texture of the house changing. The walls on either side of her vanished, and the barrier before her was visibly strengthened; she could see it. It cast its own perceptions on the floor below; while she could still see Lina, the colours were muted and paled; her hair seemed almost pink, along with the outfit she knew to be red.

The golden-haired woman from earlier, Filia, burst out after Lina - and skidded to a quick stop before she ran into her. "Val?" she called.

"I'm right here," the boy behind her answered calmly.

"So your name's Val, eh?" she asked without turning, a small smile on her face.

**"So the gods dare send two of their own into this place?"** the demon asked, breaking the tableau. **"With the power I'd gain from sacrificing of two dragons, I could completely destroy Ceiphied at last."**

"A lot has changed since you've been imprisoned here, Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu." Lina sounded angry, and _that_ sounded dangerous.

**"Am I supposed to be afraid of you, little ningen? The world hasn't changed **_**that**_** much."**

Any other time it might have been at least amusing to see Lina bristling up in anger like that. That one must have hit her pride hard, to make her react like this. "Kono yarou! Elmekia Flame!"

The demon vanished before it could hit, and the white light kept going until it hit the barrier.

The Elmekia Flame hit an invisible wall and seemingly was absorbed by it. For a split second when it hit, she could see Usagi and Val on the other side, then the vision disappeared again, and she let out the vilest stream of curses she could think of.

Filia, though, cut her off by asking, "Where are the others?"

**"They were of no use to me,"** the creature spoke up, now by the door leading outside, **"so I created another kekkai to seal humans."** It smiled wickedly. **"I'll let them out later to hunt down and kill, of course."**

"Of course," Lina echoed.

**"The only reason you're out here, ningen,"**it sneered, **"is because your death will hurt her a great deal. I've waited so long for her to fall in love with another ningen. Haruka died before I could awaken, but I think you'll do just splendidly, Lina Inverse."**

At the top of the stairs, the kekkai shuttered just slightly. "Nande?" she whispered, mostly to herself.

**"They can see you down here, even if you cannot see them. They can hear you too..."**

"Usagi?" she called out.

**"... But you can't hear their replies,"** he finished, heedless of the glares he received. **"Now, let me see: which dragon will be easist to kill? The golden dragon or the ancient dragon?"**

"Leave Val alone. He's not a part of this," Filia stated, somewhere between pleading and threatening.

**"He's a dragon, and dragons are subjects of Ceiphied. The only way for me to leave this place is to absorb Ceiphied, and I need the power that sacrificing dragons would give me to do that."** He smirked lightly. **"It's nothing personal, golden dragon, except that I want to kill your boss."**

He vanished.

"No!"

"Ceiphied again," Usagi whispered, listening intently to the conversation going on below them. And then -

The demon vanished.

"No!" Filia screamed, and she felt all her senses go on alert.

"Val?" she called out softly, keeping her eyes on the kekkai and her target beyond it.

"Hai, Usagi-san?"

What kind of a world was it out there that such a small child could sound so calm when his life was threatened? "We're going through the barrier."

_That_ got his attention. "But it's sealed against the powers of the gods," he argued.

"Lina's spell weakened it. I think - I _know_ we can make it through now." She paused. "If you trust me."

She sensed, rather than saw, him come to stand behind her. "I don't have much choice _except_ to trust you, Usagi-san."

She turned - and could only stare for a long, long moment. Dark feathered wings, too large for his small body, held her gaze. "Kuroppoi tenshi..."

"What's a tenshi?" He didn't dispute the "dark" part though.

"Nevermind. Hold onto me."

Inside her, for the first time in hundreds of thousands of years, she felt something stir again.

The kekkai shuttered once more then began to stretch obscenely. With each inch outward it moved, the easier it was to see two figures on the opposite side of it.

Then with a loud popping noise, it broke, and Usagi and Val came tumbling down the stairs, the ghost protecting him with her suddenly _very_ alive-looking body, stopping them after only falling a few steps.

**"Kuso!"** the creature screamed, reappearing.**"Quit interfering!"**

Electricity flew out its hand at the pair on the stairs, and again Usagi protected Val, pulling him up against her, even doing her best to hold his wings in. The light blue top she always wore burned away quickly under the intense heat.

"Usagi!" Lina felt slip from her lips. "Elemekia Flame!" It stumbled against the white light, but that was all. It was similarly affected by Filia's holy magic.

Beyond the demon, she heard a strange sound, like giant wings unfurling. _But Val's wings are already out, and Filia doesn't have wings in her human form, only a tail._

**"Shit,"** the demon stated briefly, falling back a step. And now she could see the source of the sound and the demon's discomfort.

**"That's one way to put it,"** Usagi answered. Only it wasn't really Usagi, was it? Was Usagi supposed to have wings? Was she supposed to look so... so... much more perfect, beautiful, radiant than she usually did?

Filia answered her unspoken questions for her, dropping to one knee and reverently whispering, "Ceiphied-sama..."

And for a long, less-than-reverent moment, she stared at the winged woman in the flowing white and gold dress, who stood between Val and Ruby-Eye Shabranidgu, and all she could think was, _So Usagi was Ceiphied? Of course! And when they were at the point of death, it freed Ceiphied and Ruby-Eye to begin their battle for real. But why are they both here now? And... why would Usagi - __**no! **__Ceiphied - be interested in... me?_ Then dark blue eyes met red ones, and the formerly golden haired being smiled, and it was the same smile she'd gotten used to seeing from Usagi already. So she was both then? Both Usagi and Ceiphied?

**"Daijoubu desu ka, Lina?"** When she spoke this time, Lina could hear two voices: the echoing intense voice of Ceiphied and the light silverly one that belonged to Usagi.

"Don't concern yourself with me," she answered. "Worry about Ruby-Eye."

_I can't cast a Dragon Slave against Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu; likewise using any spells invoking lower Mazoku's powers would be pointless,_ Lina thought to herself. _Even if we could get Zel or Amelia out here, a Ra Tilt wouldn't work, especially if Filia's Holy Magic didn't. Ra Tilts didn't work against a small piece of it anyway; what chance would that spell stand against the main body? We don't even have the Hikari no Ken anymoe. Damn it! All that leaves is Chaos Magic orr sitting back and watching. _"Hells, no," she muttered aloud. _"But I have to them carefully or Usagi - Ceiphied, whoever it is now - will be hurt. L-sama! Just this once more: __hel__p__**me**__._

**"Don't you think it's time we ended this?"** Usagi/Ceiphied asked, casually casting a holy spell.

**"Careful, you idiot!"** the demon scolded. **"Don't you see what your little ningen is doing?"**

Blue eyes flashed dark with anger. The winged figure moved forward quicker than anyone's eyes could follow, and her hand cracked against his cheek as she yelled, **"Leave Lina out of this!"**

And in the instant that their skins touched, everything was flooded into darkness.

Usagi opened her eyes, closed them, and then opened them again. Everything was still an endless black nothingness, an unending sea of... darkness as far - or was it as close? - as the eye could see.

_I've seen this place before,_ her mind whispered.

**"Yes, you have, Usagi."**

"Who's there?"

The faintest image of a reddish dragon appeared before her; it was small enough for her to hold in her cupped hands. **"This place is part of the Sea of Chaos, Usagi. You know it because for the last five millenia, your house has been the replacement scenery for this."**

"Who are you?"

**"Flare Dragon Ceiphied. In a way, I'm your guardian, as Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu is Mamoru's. And the two of you have been our guardians."**

"Why?"

**"Only the Dark Golden Lord, the Lord of Nightmares, knows that. All I know is we remained sealed in your bodies till you were on the point of death, then we were released to begin our war."**

"If you left, then why did we die?"

**"We're bonded together, Usagi, whether you like it or not. When Ruby-Eye and I first injured each other, it killed the two of you. I don't even know how long we battled, several thousands of years at least, before we reached a... conclusion five thousand years ago."**

"A conclusion?"

**"I split Ruby-Eye into seven parts, hiding the biggest and main part in the Sea of Chaos, before I split myself into four parts and followed Ruby-Eye into the Sea of Chaos. And so you and Mamoru were brought back while we recovered."**

"So you just bring us back whenever it's convient for you?"

**"In a nutshell, yesh."**

"So why am I here now, seperate from you?"

She could have sworn the dragon looked nervous. **"Because L-sama was summoned."**

"L-sama...? The Dark Golden Lord?" It nodded gravely. "But how? Why? By whom? Who would have the power and knowledge to summon her?"

**"What do **_**you**_** know about L-sama?"**

"We _were_ bonded. I know what you know. So who, why, and how?"

"Your girlfriend did it," a deep voice answered. She turned as best she could without a ground beneath her and found herself staring at her ex-boyfriend. In his hands, he held a red creature; it could only be Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu. In response, she clutched Ceiphied a bit closer to herself. 

"What do you mean, Lina did this?"

"Not denying the girlfriend bit, eh, Usako?" She shot him a very cold and dirty look. "She called up the Lord of Nightmare's, L-sama's, power, and you touching me completed the spell."

**"Darkness and light aren't ever supposed to meet,"** the red creature stated.

"We came so close to finally defeating you, especially after Hellmaster Fibrizo's god-sealing barrier weakened the Water Dragon Lord a thousand years ago," Mamoru continued. "It gave me what I needed to convince you to stay upstairs while I started a barrier of my own."

"I'm not interested in the history lesson at all right now, Mamoru. Where's Lina? I swear, if you've hurt her..."

He laughed shortly. "In this place? Here, I couldn't hurt her, no matter how much I want to. She's going to be the one in control here, over all of us."

**"Good of you to notice,"** a powerful version of Lina's voice rang out, echoing just slightly.

"Lina?" Usagi called, looking around wildly for the voice's owner.

**"Here, Usagi."** The blonde woman turned in the direction the words came from and stared in blatent shock at the woman before her. Or, more specifically, at the golden aura surrounding her.

"Lina?" she whispered, nearly letting the small dragon fall from her fingers. "Is that really you, Lina?"

**"That's the Dark Golden Lord."**

**"The Lord of Nightmares, you idiot lizard."**

"Then where's Lina? Let her go! Please don't take her!"

L-sama smiled. **"I'm not going to try keeping her. I just need to borrow her body and voice. And she **_**did**_** call **_**me**_**, you know." **She turned her attention to the two small beings. **"Because of the two of you, this world gives me more trouble than the other three put together."**

**"Gomen ne, L-sama," **Ceiphied stated. It was the only one of the two that looked contrite as well.

**"I want you to release your holds on these humans and let them go however they will. And try sticking to fighting your own battles from now on."**

**"I would release my human, L-sama, but Ceiphied here bound it to me and me to it. Without me, it will die, and vice versa."**

Usagi could have sworn the dragon winked at her. **"Just a precaution against that human hurting Usagi again."**

"I have no interest in living in that world anyway," Mamoru stated plainly, "not when I'd be powerless after having had Ruby-Eye's power for so long."

**"So then you will let Shabranigdu devour you?"** He shrugged. **"Your choice. Both of you should offer a boon to them as well for all the trouble you've caused them."**

**"A boon?"**

**"A favour, a wish."**

**"I can do that."** The dragon's voice got quieter. **"What do you want, Usagi? Name it, and it's yours."**

"All I want is to spend the rest of my life with Lina as a mortal."

A few feet away, Ruby-Eye finished a small spell to keep others from hearing the wish. **"So what do you want, ningen?"**

"That's simple. I want Usagi and Lina's time together to be very short."

**"How short? Less than ten years?"**

"If even that much."

**"Considering the wording of her wish to Ceiphied, we can do it."**

**"So both of your wishes are decided and Lina will be saving hers, so..."**

"Lina?" a deep voice echoed on the edges of her senses, strange yet familiar at once. Fingers snapped before her face several times. "Lina?"

"Lina-san?"

_That_ voice she recognized, and she correspondingly reacted in what seemed the most appropriate manner: "Fireball!"

And Amelia was two years out of practice dodging. Needless to say what the result was: one toasty and well-done Saillune princess.

"Hidoi, Lina-san!" Amelia complained, latching onto her signifcant other in a rather leech-like fashion. Gourry didn't look too pleased to be between Amelia and Lina Inverse. "I was just trying to wake you up! There was no reason for you to just Fireball m-"

"Do you see Usagi?" Lina interrupted, whipping around wildly.

"You were the only one who came out of there, Lina-san," Silphiel answered slowly, glancing back at Zelgadiss for confirmation.

Amelia stared at Lina as the redhead ate the local tavern out of every bite of food the poor owners possessed, and she pitied hers and Filia's money pouches; they were going to be _so_ empty after this...

"Excuse me?" She lifted her head to see their overworked waiter standing behind Gourry, looking down at a still-gobbling Lina. "Would you happen to be Lina Inverse by any chance?"

The fact that Lina willingly set her food down to study the man before her showed just how little attention she was paying to her meal. "Who wants to know?"

"Look, some shrine maiden told me to keep my eye out for a redheaded sorcererss who was traveling with a large group. Said it was real important that she talk to you."

'Was that you?" Lina asked Silphiel.

"No, I went straight out to the house."

"She left the message earlier today." He glanced behind him then back at Lina. "She's at the bar now, if you want to see her."

The sorceress shrugged, stood, and followed him to the bar. Sure enough, a young woman in a blue cape and a miko's - a shrine maiden's - clothes with waist-length blonde hair sat at the bar.

She stopped behind her and opened her mouth to speak when the shrine maiden beat her to it. "So is blue my colour then, Lina?" Her eyes grew wide as the woman turned around, a sparkling pair of blue eyes raising to meet her own red ones. "Well?"

Lina just shook herself for a moment before breaking from her shock. "Usagi?"

The blonde smiled softly. "Lina... look." She grabbed Lina's hand in her own and rubbed her cheek against it for a moment. "I'm alive again," she whispered so softly that only the other girl could hear it.

Lina let her fingers brush against Usagi's cheek and allowed an almost timid smile to come to her cheek "How?"

Usagi shook her head. "It's not important. Lina?"

"Hai?"

"Can I... can I spend the rest of my life with you?"

Lina stared at her for a moment, not trusting herself to speak. "You want the rest of your life with me?" she repeated, confused, a faint blush rising up to stain her cheeks.

Usagi nodded. "Hai. Only if you want me to..."

Lina smiled and put one arm around Usagi in a loose hug. "Of course I want you to. Demo, I don't see why you would want to be with me..."

The blonde smiled and leaned against the other girl. "I was thinking something a lot like that myself, Lina, demo... ai shiteru."

"So that's the infamous Usagi?" Zelgadiss asked, sipping his tea, obviously not really expecting an answer.

"She's cute," Silphiel answered, cuddling up to his side.

"I'm glad Lina-san's finally going to be happy," Filia stated, "aren't you, Val?"

"Hai," he absently answered, a faint frown in his eyes. A dark cloud hung over the happily and obliviously kissing couple. He blinked sharply, and it vanished. He smiled and went back to eating.

Surely he'd just imagined it.

**::Owari::**

28 April 2001

^_~ So... did I end it evilly enough? Be sure to review it (if you're at FanFiction.net) or, if you're reading this at DarkMagick.net or anywhere else it may end up archived (though I seriously doubt it), [e-mail me!!!][1]

I am open to doing a sequel, but there has be suffient interest.

^_~   
Bai-bai!

   [1]: mailto:eternal_sailorm@hotmail.com



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